ProLiteracy Believes President’s State of the Union Address Ignores Millions of Americans at the Lowest Skills Levels

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ProLiteracy calls for increased support for Americans at the lowest literacy levels.

ProLiteracy urges President Obama and Congress to work together to ensure that all Americans have equal opportunities by reinvesting in adult literacy and basic education.

Syracuse, NY (PRWEB)January 15, 2016

In his final State of the Union President Barack Obama addressed critical questions and important steps our nation should take regarding the future of the economy. He stated, “Real opportunity requires every American to get the education and training they need to land a good-paying job.” The solution, the president said, is free tuition at community colleges for all Americans. ProLiteracy strongly supports the president’s goal to ensure that U.S. workers get the skills they need to compete in the 21st century economy, but adds that his initiative should be expanded to cover the millions of Americans that lack a high school diploma or high school equivalency degree.

In America, 36 million adults lack basic reading, writing, math, and computer skills. These individuals, who function at literacy levels too low to qualify for community college, need the help of adult education programs to be able to take advantage of a free college education.

Kevin Morgan, president and CEO of ProLiteracy, says, “While the number of people seeking help keeps growing, overall funding for literacy programs has dropped. Adult literacy programs that help these adults are often under-funded. Most have waiting lists. Without additional resources for these programs, the goal of a sustainable family wage through post-secondary education will be lost on millions of those at the bottom of the education and economic ladder.

“Literacy is the key to higher learning and a window to the world,” says Morgan. “ProLiteracy urges President Obama and Congress to work together to ensure that all Americans have equal opportunities by reinvesting in adult literacy and basic education.”

About ProLiteracy
ProLiteracy believes every adult has the right to literacy. ProLiteracy, the largest adult literacy and basic education membership organization in the nation, is committed to creating a world in which all adults are literate. ProLiteracy has 1,000 member programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and works with 52 nongovernmental organizations in 34 developing countries. For more information about ProLiteracy, please visit http://www.proliteracy.org.